I love bound button holes. They’re beautiful beasties. The problem is, I don’t like fat bound button holes with a smaller button.  Many bound button holes are half inch, top to bottom. To my eye, that’s too much for a polite jacket. I prefer 1/4″. If you are similarly persnickety,  this is the bound button hole for you.  This is not the infamous turnsy-foldsy bound button hole you see in a lot of sewing books, which is difficult to do in some fabrics (like leather). This one is for those of us who are better at sewing than ironing. It is what I remember from a tailoring class, which may or may not be what was actually taught in the class. It does work out well, though. Read the rest of this entry »

According to my handy-dandy stitch dictionary, this is also called the “open chain stitch” or “Roman chain stitch”. This is a nice, relatively simple, geometric decoration. Because it has a straight edge, you can work it right on top of a machined hem to hide the machine stitches. (I believe in cheating.) Read the rest of this entry »

This is a really nice looking edge finish. It’s decorative and fully sealed. It shows up all throughout the ages – sixteenth century ruffs, smocks and chemises of all eras, even on modern blankets (of all things). It’s also a great utility stitch – milliners use it to whip wire down to buckram hat brims. Read the rest of this entry »

This is a very basic embroidery technique that will serve you well. It’s sometimes called a french knot or a bullion knot. It’s a nice decorative touch. It’s also the absolute fastest way to tie off a thread when you’re sewing – just make the knot on the inside of the garment instead of the outside, and bury the threads! Read the rest of this entry »

“Stay Stitch inside the seam allowance” is a fairly common instruction in patterns.  Generally, stay stitching is used to make certain that the fabric of a garment will not stretch out during the sewing process.  It’s also a dandy cheater hem, which will fray (but only so far – it’s a controlled fray).  Sometimes, that’s exactly the look you want. Read the rest of this entry »

Hand working an eyelet with a buttonhole stitch is surprisingly fast and easy.  Hand-worked eyelets are strong, easily sizable, don’t fall out, and most importantly, you never find yourself running out of the color you need at 3am.   Read the rest of this entry »

This is fast way to make a fully finished hem, using commercial Double Fold Bias Tape.

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